Category: Perception Is Reality

I went to a music festival this past weekend and lost my voice yelling and screaming.

…Makes things kind of tough when you come back to work as a teacher.

But, what was interesting is that it made me perceive all of my daily communication challenges differently—a forced perspective change if you will.

And so rather than greet everybody with an over the top volume… today, I greeted everybody with claps and a whisper.

Rather than communicate with my instructors and staff in one broad stroke of my voice… I met each of them where they were and communicated individually.

…Which, interestingly enough, made me do the same with the students. Rather than ask the class questions, I asked each student individually. Rather than delegate after class helping, I spent a little extra time whispering answers to the ones who asked. And rather than control the whole dialogue of the class, I delegated and had students and other staff members get involved.

Having no voice as a teacher can undoubtedly be a challenge… but it doesn’t have to be a problem.

Inner Work Prompt: What are you looking at as a problem that might be better percieved as a challenge?

Not being able to be spontaneous isn’t about your need for a plan or your desire for control… it’s about not being able to trust yourself.

Because it’s not about what happens in each moment… it’s about what you bring to each moment…

And if you don’t think you can let go of the future (plans) and bring great energy and perspective to the present (one moment at a time)… then maybe it isn’t the plans you need to work on…

Yesterday, my flight got delayed.

The first announcement was that the plane had been sitting in the sun all day and the A/C wasn’t able to cool off the inside of the plane enough to allow people to board. So they told us they were going to keep trying and keep us posted.

The second announcement was that they attached a separate A/C unit onto the plane that should help expedite the cooling process.

The third announcement was that the previously mentioned A/C unit wasn’t working and was only blowing more hot outside air into the plane.

The fourth announcement was that they were going to have us fly out on a completely different plane that was still 40 minutes away from landing at the airport.

And finally, after around three hours of delays, we finally were able to board the freshly landed plane.

You can imagine the irritation and frustration experienced by the people waiting at that gate.

The people I was with, however, ended up having a great time.

We had some great conversations. We joked and laughed. We shared ideas, pictures, and videos. And, in retrospect, it ended up not being a three hour inconvenience, but a three hour opportunity to connect more deeply with the people I happened to be delayed with.

When you stop letting things outside of your control ruin your state… suddenly… your state isn’t ruined nearly as often. Because, generally speaking, your state is always something that’s within your control. Get it?

It’s as John Wooden so famously once said, “Things turn out the best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

The slogan I’ve been using to brand MoveMe Quotes since 2010 has been, “Motivating you to keep moving forward—the only direction!”

The idea being that there’s always a way to learn, grow, and improve from any given life situation… all you need is the right mindset, perspective, and/or framework… which is what MMQ aims to provide…

Today, I uploaded a quote to MoveMe Quotes that read, “I finally found my rhythm when I realized that even the steps backwards were a part of the dance.”

And the more I live out my life, the more this latter idea of living life as a dance feels appropriate.

I think too many people try to live their life linearly… and go from one life milestone to the next with the expectation of it going smoothly, gracefully, and according to plan.

But, the plan that society brands into our mind is this misconception that linear is the way forward… or that forward should always be the only direction we should head… and maybe my slogan has contributed to that…

But, life is not linear. Life will never be without its fair share of obstacles, challenges, and setbacks. Life will never always be forward.

But… what we can always keep moving forward… is the dance of our life.

So long as we keep swaying our hips… stepping spontaneously to the beat of this life’s drum… and surrender to the rhythm and flow of our inner guidance…

How could we not always keep moving forward?

A lot happens on earth in a day.

I remember feeling equal parts awe struck as I did mind blown when I watched One Day On Earth.

In one day… somebody is giving birth… somebody is learning how to ride a bike… somebody is shaving with their dad for the first time… somebody is farming crops… somebody is killing a cow… somebody is hugging their mom or dad… somebody is feeling hopelessness… somebody is feeling grace… somebody is traveling to a new part of the world for the first time… somebody is making love… somebody is performing in front of an audience… somebody is closing their eyes into death…

When we have a zooming out experience like this…

And can really absorb the scale of the human experience…

It might help us remember that the things we’re complaining about… overthinking… and hyperfocused on and making into a big deal…

…Maybe isn’t and aren’t.